Credit Union Affordable Housing Bill Advances in Oregon

Posted by Pam Leavitt on February 13, 2025

The Oregon House Housing and Homelessness Committee heard testimony Wednesday in support of HB3188, the GoWest Credit Union Association priority bill to create a $2.5 million dollar loan loss reserve fund to allow financial institutions to offer 100% financed loans to members. Read more about the bill here.

Testifying with GoWest were Larry Ellifritz, President/CEO of Consolidated Community CU (and Co-Chair of the Oregon Governmental Affairs Committee) and Hal Scoggins, Attorney, Farleigh Wada Witt.  The bill is being sponsored by House Majority Leader Ben Bowman (D) and House Minority Leader, Christine Drazen (R) with House Democrats and Republicans.

Quoting from the testimony:

Homeownership is an important goal for all of us in this state.  A home is the single biggest investment most people ever make. Passing a home on to the next generation is an amazing gift that builds generational wealth. Saving even 5% for a down payment can be challenging. Many homebuyers juggle additional financial obligations, like student loan or car payments, family expenses, household costs, and more.

The goal of the Oregon Welcome Home program is to create a statewide loan program to expand home financing options for families at or below 130% of the median household income level. Members of participating financial institutions would be able to achieve homeownership through this program with a 100% financed mortgage loan.  When a borrower’s income and debt-to-income ratios meet certain criteria, this program can provide an avenue to overcome affordability, down payment, and credit qualification challenges, and enable families to escape the cycle of renting and build wealth.   

Keep track of the bill here:  https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2025R1/Measures/Overview/HB3188

Other bills advancing

Another priority bill, HB3370, is expected to be heard in the House Commerce and Consumer Protection Committee next week. The next step is a vote on the House floor.

HB3370 – Updates to the Oregon Credit Union Act:

• DHS Affidavit – There is a minor technical issue in ORS 723.466 related to Dept. of Human Services payout time. There is a discrepancy between the timeframe in 723.466(1)(b) (max time for payout to DHS is 75 days after death) and the timeframe in 723.466(4), which says we must accept an affidavit from DHS up to 76 days after death. We see this as a drafting error that was missed during work on previous legislation.  Note – this also affects ORS 708A.430, the identical statute in the Bank Act.
• Expelled Members – Credit Union can expel members for a variety of reasons but the most common is their threatening behavior to staff.  Members have a right to request reinstatement, which the statute currently requires be considered by the board.  We are asking to update 723.202 (2) to allow the board to delegate consideration of membership reinstatement requests to management. While the right to a review is valuable for the member, focus on such matters can detract from the board’s necessary attention to its significant strategic, financial, and risk management oversight of the credit union. Each credit union should be able to determine for itself who is the appropriate party to consider reinstatement requests.
• Supervisory/Audit Committee – In many corporate organizations, a supervisory or audit committee is a subcommittee of the Board made up with all Board members.  Our goal is to clarify in 723.252 (2) that the composition of the Supervisory/Audit Committee is allowed to be only Board members to fill these positions with caveats such as no management, Board Chair, etc.

All of this progress is made possible because of the strong engagement of Oregon credit union advocates. Thank you for your engagement!

Posted in Advocacy on the Move, Oregon Advocacy.